Bride-Price and Domestic Violence in Timor-Leste

Violence against women within intimate relationships is a serious problem in Timor-Leste. Timorese human rights organizations have stated on a number of occasions that the payment of bride-price (barlake), leads to women being treated as property, and encourages domestic violence.This study investigates whether there is a causal link between barlake and domestic violence and examines if there is a difference between women from matrilineal and patrilineal clans in their experiences of domestic violence.